


The Gift

by badskippy



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Epilogue to Season 2 Finale, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Friendship/Love, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28390467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badskippy/pseuds/badskippy
Summary: Din Djarin feels something he hasn’t felt in a long time; fear.  But then, the love for a child can do that.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Cara Dune, Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda
Comments: 6
Kudos: 92





	The Gift

* * *

Din Djarin stood there, staring at the lift door, hoping, wishing - almost _praying_ , for it to re-open and for someone small and loved to come back through it. But of course, the door remained closed. And, although, he knew his hope to be a fantasy - a desperate, empty fantasy, that did not make his heart yarn for it any less. 

“Are you okay with this?” Cara Dune asked, softly, as she came to stand behind him.

“It’s what’s best for … for him.” Din couldn’t say _his_ name.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“This is the way.” For the first time in his life, Din hated those words.

“That’s my point. Does it really have to _be_ this way?”

“You heard the guy. Until …” Din still could not speak his name. “He has to master his powers.”

“Maybe. But will he be happy?”

“He’ll be safe.”

“Not the same thing. Not when he doesn’t have what he loves the most.”

_Don’t,_ Din thought _. Don’t say that._ From within, there was a feeling growing that Din was completely unfamiliar with, a feeling that he had long ago conquered. Or so he thought. Fear. Din’s fear was that … he would be forgotten. He was behind left behind and would be forgotten. He swore they would see each other again, but that kind of promise was never a guarantee. Not in times like this. Not ever, really. If only there was a way that he could be sure that their bond would never …

Of course!

“I’ll be back!” Din said, sprinting for the lift door and ignoring the calls of the others, demanding to know where he was heading. He punched the controls several times. “Come on!” The damn thing was so slow. But moments later the door opened, and he was inside, pressing the controls for lower hanger bay.

\-----ooooo-----

“You all right, R2?” Luke asked, after lifting R2 unto the top of the X-Wing. He kept his hand raised, just in case R2 slipped and fell; The Sands Knew, he did not want a repeat of their first landing on Dagobah.

R2-D2 whistled and beeped happily as he moved into position and X-Wing’s droid compartment platform lowered, nestling R2 into his position.

“Good.”

Climbing into the cockpit, Luke brought his cloak tighter about himself, securing the child to him. Although they had connected, Luke had not been blessed with the child’s name; Luke could not blame the boy for keeping his secrets. How frightening it must have been to be so young and vulnerable and be lost in the world alone for so long?

But then, the child had not been alone. At least not at the end.

Luke was intrigued by the Mandalorian. Even without a direct connection, Luke could sense the sadness emanating from the small being in waves. To say that the young boy and the Mandalorian had a bond would be an understatement; one didn’t need the force to know it, it was clear in their silent good-bye. Luke could tell that the man was also near heart-broken at letting the child go, regardless of what was for the best. And Luke understood and respected what was painful for both the man and the child; with all the war and destruction, pain and loss, Luke knew that kind of heartache. Luke still wished he’d had the chance to truly connect with his father, although he knew that chance was gone.

However, Luke knew he could at least offer some comfort. “Soon, little one,” Luke said gently, “we will be in a safe place and you can sleep in peace.”

The child gave no acknowledgement to Luke’s statement, only sighed and leaned against the Jedi Master, obviously weary and exhausted. But no sooner had Luke started the engine warm-up cycle and flipped the switches for the navigation and R2’s translator, the child suddenly perked and sat up, turning his head to stare out across the hanger bay.

Following the child’s gaze, Luke saw the Mandalorian some thirty meters away, standing so still that the reflected light off his polish armor was the only thing animated about the man. Slowly, the warrior raised his hand, and, for a moment, Luke believed the man was waving good-bye. But in the next moment, Luke could tell that there was something there, something held between his thumb and forefinger. Before Luke could work out what it was, the child reached out with both his hand and the force and, faster than blaster fire, the object shot across the hanger and into the child’s hand.

It was a control knob of polished metal.

Luke was very confused; this was hardly anything out of the ordinary. In fact, why in the world would the Mandalorian give such a parting gift? What function could the item serve, beyond its original purpose? 

But it mattered not.

Regardless of what Luke wondered of its purpose or meaning, he could feel the child’s happiness and joy as the boy tenderly cradled the knob in both hands and held it against his chest. Whatever it meant, it was something cherished and beloved, something special between the child and the man, and ultimately that was all that mattered.

Luke did give the Mandalorian a nod in parting and the warrior gave a subtle one in return. 

It was time to go.

\-----ooooo-----

Din watched as the X-wing’s canopy come down and the fighter slowly move backwards, out of the hanger, and into space. He was still hurting, but the fear within him was subsiding; hopefully he’d be remembered.

And despite that the child was out of sight and couldn’t possibly hear him, Din offered his son a whispered blessing. “May the force be with you, Grogu.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Star Wars story ... never mind my first Mandalorian fan fic. I hope you like.
> 
> ‘The Sands Knew’ ... this is my own head canon. On Tatooine, phrases like, ‘Only the Sands know’ (meaning something is unknowable or that it’s just the way things are) and ‘The truth is like The Dunes’ (meaning a situation is about how it’s viewed and by whom, rather than by mere facts), are common - since the desert is often viewed as a metaphor for life.


End file.
